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Monday, July 11, 2011

A useless light switch no more

My guest room had a light switch, but no light. I hated it because any time I had to go in there at night I would flick the switch and nothing happened. After THREE years I still did that. Redonk.

I decided one day to buy a fabulous flush mount light and hire someone to install it. I only paid $88 for it, by the way...holy price increase, CSN!

When it came in the mail, I stared at the ominous light cover thingy and decided to just go ahead and do it myself. I'm cheap, and I'm definitely no stranger to installing lighting.

Wiring in old houses is always a fun endeavor. Of course, I got exactly what I was expecting...an old mounting strap...

...and cloth wrapped wires in a very small light box.

I didn't know if the new light would fit on the old mounting strap, but I decided to just make it work. Midway, I threw on the power to make sure it would light before I went through all the work to put it up.

Success! Ten swear-inducing minutes (or 40, whatever) we had figured out how to get the screws to line up on the old strap.

And shortly thereafter, it was mounted safely to the ceiling.

I lined up all the parts to the light shade and dutifully read the instructions.

The diffuser and sides of the shade were frosted glass, so they were kind of hard to fit in there, and didn't fully line up. Oh well, I put this joint facing the window!

Gotta love that sweet circle pattern! Here she is all finished.

And lit up.

Ah, I love having a light - even if it's a little small and not that 'exciting' in the room.

Our upstairs ceilings are only 7.5 feet, another charming feature of our 1937 home. We only have dangly lights when there are things placed underneath like a bed, etc...to prevent "light crashing." I think I found the best flush mount under $100, and it lights up the small room nicely.

I'd probably do the same thing and constantly flip the switch even though I knew there wasn't a light there. I still constantly hit the wrong switch in our front entrance when I'm trying to turn on the lights (either interior or exterior).

Love the fixture you got too. We can only have flush mount lights upstairs too... so i'm still looking for the perfect ones for our hall, bedroom and bathroom... ughhh. You scored though!

I am so jealous of your electrical skills. I know it is a fairly simple job but I am totally afraid of electrocuting myself while simultaneously burning the house down. I just paid an electrician $150 to install two fans, and I choke on that money, but I'm just too scared.

Love it! We dealt with the ceiling and antiquated wire issue at our old house and it always make light fixture selection a real challenge. Why can't there be more stylish and cheap flush mount fixtures out there? Love what you found and it looks great in the space!

LOVE the light. And three cheers for effective lighting! At some point someone patched over the light switch in our third bedroom. I can think of no logical reason someone would do that, and I really wish we had a light in there. Maybe someday I'll decide I care enough to do something about it and tear into the wall. Maybe.

Wow, great jo on the installing AND the cheap find! I haven't had to replace a light fixture yet, but I'm pretty sure I would be intimidated by it. The light may be small, but it does make a big difference!

About Me

My name is Sara. I am a home owner/renovator, photographer, and stay at home mom in the Chicago area trying to cram all kinds of projects into the time my son is at school. Ashford is 3, and I had our second baby Zach December 2015, so things are pretty busy around here! I like slightly inappropriate humor, wine, and stalking house blogs. I love starting new DIY projects and sometimes hate finishing them. I love taking portraits of families, children and couples whenever I can. This blog is all about the projects my husband and I tackle, the projects that fizzle, and the funny things that happen to us along the way.